A safe but helpful hand: Sask. women's highway carjacking highlights safety

The story of a woman’s terrifying experience being carjacked after she stopped to help people on a Saskatchewan highway is bringing up the question – what would you do?

Kristen Alm was driving with a friend on Highway 16 from Saskatoon to Allan early Saturday morning when they noticed an SUV that had rolled near Clavet. The two women stopped for a group of people waving for help, but ended up being pulled from the car, pushed down, kicked, and threatened with a gun before the people took off with the women’s vehicle.

On Tuesday, News Talk Radio’s MainStreet asked people what they would do in the same situation: would they stop to help people on the side of the road, or would they just keep driving?

“I will drive on by – I will make a phone call if I need to,” said Darryl in Regina.

“I’m more than willing to stop and have many times, but not if my family is with me,” texted a man from Unity.

Some people said they would stop to help no matter the situation.

“Especially in the winter, I don’t really think you have an option. You have to stop and offer help if it’s at all possible – but there are ways to do it safely,” said Jonathon from Saskatoon, saying he would have stopped at a distance to phone the police first.

“I travel quite a bit, but I travel with two really, big dogs,” said Dianne from Saskatoon. “Anybody that has a problem, they’re not going to get in with me.”

Sgt. Ian Barr is with the traffic department of the Regina Police Service. On Wednesday morning, he spoke to the CJME Morning Show pointing out how situations like the one near Clavet are rare.

“The whole province is basically a big small town and we would certainly like to think that you can stop someone at the side of the road to help someone and not be a victim of crime,” Barr said. However, he pointed out that a person can still help someone on the side of the road without actually stopping.

“If you want to help but be safe yourself, you can always stop some distance down the road and make the phone call.”

Barr suggested that people should judge the situation to decide what the best course of action is, but he hopes the story of what happened to the two women doesn’t prevent people from helping others when they can.